stitchface

11 hits 1 run - that's difficult to accomplish. a real testament to a team with no power that won't take a walk.

seriosuly, dusty just couldn't take neifi out of the lineup? This is just amazing. shutouts are us now open for business.

why is neifi playing ss?

the heat's getting to you.

pierre neifi 1-2 walker 8th. how is this stupidity allowed to go on day after day after day?

question of the week - who's a bigger jackbutt - guillen or mariotti? Tough call.

seriously, do you think the Cardinals would just keep right on rolling without Pujols?

I can see .500 for the month on August 2.

yes

Can you imagine Bonds hit .362/.609/.812 in '04? F'in hell. no cyborgs allowed in the argument.

I have only 5 starts Al. Of course, my team's strength is offense anyway.

hopefully be back on sunday night or monday latest.

the only way the NL owners block the sale is if the price is too low and there is another potential owner they like better.

Tim, a big cubs fan, apparently doesn't remember what playoffs are.

well they do have an extra hitter in the lineup. plus you know the injuries thing.

nothing wrong w/ sending guzman back to iowa to right himself. i do agree that if he comes back up again, to commit to him for a longer span. of course, prior might be back soon, which would bump guzman from the rotation, but gotta figure kerry wood will be on the DL soon, so guzman should get plenty of starts. he wasn't right when he was called up and shouldn't have been called up.

I would say a .316 OBP is not something to strive for. I've never said you should never swing at the first pitch though.

I think yo-yoing pitchers is a terrible idea. Commit to one of them and give him 10-15 starts.

At no point did I say it was impossible. What I did say is that it is very hard to recognize. I really like how you take one thing I say and take it to the extreme without actually reading the post. Well done.... Yea, its hard. otherwise we'd all be in the major leagues, eh?

Boston and the Yankees are among the Major League leaders in unintentional walks. Do you think the presence of players like A-Rod, Jeter, Ortiz, Ramirez, etc. help that number? Maybe they're pitching around these guys while the Cubs really have nobody to pitch around right now. or maybe those guys are really great hitters because they select pitches they can hit and don't swing at those they can't? Come on, these guys aren't walking 300 times a year.

But the great hitters do it better than the bad hitters. therefore its something to strive for - if you can't recognize pitches, you will not be a major league hitter. Have you ever hit in the major leagues? Just because something is difficult does not mean its not the right approach or goal. and btw, the condescending tone adds nothing to your arguments. My condescending tone? Yet you try to get real tough with your "I'm not looking up anything for you." I have not hit in the major leagues but have hit against pitchers who have played in the major leagues at a fairly high level. You get maybe 3/10 of a second to recognize ball vs. strike. It's far too simplistic to say go up there and swing only if you can hit the ball hard. Put a good swing on a pitch you think you can is all you can do. "real tough"? - LOL, whatever. Look up your own stats or continue to be ignorant. Basically you know you're wrong so you try to diminish the statistics that will prove you wrong before they are posted. I don't think its simplistic at all. That's how you become a great hitter -you recognize pitches you can hit and lay off the others. Yes, since everything in baseball can simply be put into statistics, right? The problem with your logic is that you're using great hitters as your benchmark. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of them in all of baseball. Like I said before, it's not that easy and if it were, everyone would hit over .350. No, but hitting success sure can. Is it really that hard to see that what separates hitters' success is pitch recognition? It doesn't matter how many great hitters there are - rank all the hitters and you will find that those that recognize hittable pitches are the most successful. If you can hit a ball off the ground like Vlad or Nomar, more power to you. Most people can't.

see? You should have looked it up before you dismissed it. But then since you believe pitch recognition is impossible and shouldn't be strived for, why not just hack at everything?

Maybe the Cubs should invest in guys who take 6 or 7 pitches per at bat. Those guys tend to be better hitters. They'd also help get to the bullpen much sooner in games when the opposing pitcher is on. Who on the Cubs takes the most pitches? Their best hitter, Derrek Lee. Coincidence? Do you think Jeff Francoeur is a good hitter? He's a notorious first pitch swinger. Have you seen his average? Batting average on this board...that's blasphemy. I thought the only meaningful statistic was on base percentage. (sarcasm intended) oh, more condescending remarks! How clever!

Maybe the Cubs should invest in guys who take 6 or 7 pitches per at bat. Those guys tend to be better hitters. They'd also help get to the bullpen much sooner in games when the opposing pitcher is on. Who on the Cubs takes the most pitches? Their best hitter, Derrek Lee. Coincidence? Do you think Jeff Francoeur is a good hitter? He's a notorious first pitch swinger. no, he's not a good hitter at the major league level.

But the great hitters do it better than the bad hitters. therefore its something to strive for - if you can't recognize pitches, you will not be a major league hitter. Have you ever hit in the major leagues? Just because something is difficult does not mean its not the right approach or goal. and btw, the condescending tone adds nothing to your arguments. My condescending tone? Yet you try to get real tough with your "I'm not looking up anything for you." I have not hit in the major leagues but have hit against pitchers who have played in the major leagues at a fairly high level. You get maybe 3/10 of a second to recognize ball vs. strike. It's far too simplistic to say go up there and swing only if you can hit the ball hard. Put a good swing on a pitch you think you can is all you can do. "real tough"? - LOL, whatever. Look up your own stats or continue to be ignorant. Basically you know you're wrong so you try to diminish the statistics that will prove you wrong before they are posted. I don't think its simplistic at all. That's how you become a great hitter -you recognize pitches you can hit and lay off the others.